Storage-battery plate.



PATENTBD JAN. 9, 1906.-

D, P. PERRY STORAGE BATTERY PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1903.

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ITE STATES DAVID P. PERRY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STORAGE-BATTERY PLATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1906.

Application filed June 8, 1903. Serial No. 160,467.

To Ll/ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID P. PERRY, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, have inventeda certain new and useful Improvement in Storage-Battery Plates, of,

which the following is a specification.

It is desirable and important in storagebattery plates that theconstruction be such as to prevent the active material from becomingdislodged from the grid or metal support. Again, it is important anddesirable that the plate be of such character as to combine lightnesswith strength and rigidity. Another feature which is desirable andimportant is to so construct the plate that the internal resistance ofthe battery will be as low as possible, and particularly to so constructthe plate that the resistance between the active material and the gridor support will be reduced to a minimum. In other words, it is importantand desirable that no part of the active material be more than threethirtyseconds of an inch away from the grid or support. Prior to myinvention the foregoing features and advantages have been employed orrealized to some extent in various kinds of storage-battery plates. Forexample, some of the plates constructed prior to my invention havepossessed the advantage and desirable feature of having a formation ofthe grid or support which prevented the active material from falling offor becoming dislodged, but not the feature of having a plate whichcombined lightness with strength and rigidity. Again, some of the platesconstructed prior to my inventionhave been to a greater or less extentof a character to prevent the active material from becoming dislodged,but not of a character to insure high conductivity between the activematerial and the grid or support, and, on the other hand, batteryplateshave been constructed prior to my invention which perhaps in a fairdegree insured a low internal resistance and afairly good conductivitybetween the active material and the support or grid,but at the expenseof having the plate either much too heavy or too weak or perhaps of acharacter not to prevent the active material from becoming dislodged.Also in some cases the plates have been so constructed that, while theycombined the features of lightness, strength, and rigidity and wereadapted to hold the active material firmly and prevent it from droppingoff orbecoming dislodged, they did not, however, possess the advantageand desirable feature of having no part of the active material more thanthree thirty-seconds of an inch away from the metal grid or support, orapproximately so, and consequently were not adapted to insure a lowinternal resistance, and particularly were not adapted to insure arelatively low or practically minimum resistance between the metalsupport and the material which is actually active during the dischargeof the battery.

Generally stated, the object of my invention is to provide a highlyefficient and com paratively inexpensive construction of storage-batteryplate. A special object, however, is to provide a storage-battery platein which all of the previously-explained important features andadvantages are embodied or realized to a greater extent than heretoforeand possessing or embodying also the various other features andadvantages which are well known to those skilled in the art and whichwill in all ways meet the requirements of approved methods andpractices.

To these and other useful ends my invention consists in mattershereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a face view or side elevationof a storage-battery plate embodying the principles of my invention,certain portions being broken away for the purpose of showing theconstruction of the grid or support. Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectionon line 2 2 in Fig. 1.

As thus illustrated, my improved storagebattery plate may comprise apair of flat or practically flat plates A and A, composed of suitablemetalas, for example, lead. These fiat metal plates constitute the outergrid members and are preferably constructed with vertical side andintermediate ribs a and a and also with top and bottom horizontal ribsa- The spaces between the vertical ribs are occupied by oblique ribs orconnecting-strips a When placed flatwise together, the ribs a of onegrid member cross the like ribs of the other grid member at an angle, asshown in Fig. 1. By referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that all of saidribs, and particularly the ribs a, are wedge-shaped in cross-section andtaper inwardly. Preferably and as a matter -of further and specialimprovement these two flat or practically flat outer grid mem bers areseparated by an intermediate flat perforated plate or inner grid memberB, which is in the nature of a screen and which is provided with 'evenlydistributed and closely-arranged apertures 19. As will be observed, thisinner grid member or intermediate foraminous or reticulated metal sheetis of less thickness than the outer members A and A. The three aperturedor perforated lead plates thus constructed can be secured flatwisetogether by means of lead rivets C, inserted through openings providedat appropriate places. Thus constructed it will be seen that my improvedgrid or support is provided at each side or face with a plurality ofparallel and obliquely-disposed channels or cavities which taperoutwardly, the cavities at one side of the grid or support beingconnected with those at the other side by means of the small openings orapertures in the intermediate grid member or screen B. Consequently thepaste when applied to the grid and pressed into the cavities becomesseparated into strips which are Wedge-shaped in cross-sectionthat is tosay, which taper outwardly in cross-sectionand are not, therefore,liable to become dislodged from the grid or support. Furthermore, theplate is both light and strong, the arrangement of the ribs being suchthat there are practicallyno weak lines and such that the plate cannotbe easily bent or broken in any direction. Again, with the provision ofthe intermediate reticulated sheet B no part of the active material needbe more than three thirty-seconds of an inch away from the metal of thegrid or support, or approximately so, according to the size anddimensions of the plate. Thus in this way the outwardlytapering stripsof hardened paste which fill the cavities at each side of the grid areconnected by the portions of the hardened paste which fills the openingsor apertures in the web or intermediate grid member B. So while the gridor support is desirably and advantageously constructed of flat aperturedplates which are riveted together, and while the formation of theseplates or grid members is such as to provide outwardly-taperingcavities, so as to insure a dovetailed fastening, so to speak, betweenthe active material or hardened paste and the grid or metal support, theconstruction is at the same time characterized by the presence of acentrallydocated web or flat sheet. Thus the grid or support is not onlyof a strong and inflexible or practically which has been established byexperience and good practice. All of the metal of the plate is a supportfor the active material, as well as a conductor.

All three of the grid members are preferably provided at their tops withextensions adapted to form a terminal D. Also, as a matter of furtherimprovement, the grid members A and A are formed with taperingstrengthening or reinforcing pieces d, leading downward for a suitabledistance immediately below the said plate-terminal D. As illustrated,these strengthening or reinforcing portions d are merely enlargements ofthe upper portions of one of the ribs (1 of each of the outer gridmembers. This feature adds materially to the strength and serviceabilityof the plate.

It will be readily understood that the active material of my improvedstorage-battery plate may be of any suitable known or approvedcharacter. For example, it may consist of a hardened paste formed bymixing red lead or litharge or the like with suitable ingredients. Thegrid or support can be of any suitable material, such as lead.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. As an article of manufacture, astoragebattery grid, comprising three flat superimposed lead members,the two outer members being provided with a plurality ofverticallydisposed columns of obliquely-arranged outwardly-taperingapertures, the obliquely-arranged apertures of one member being arrangedat an angle to the obliquely-arranged apertures of the other member, andthe intermediate memberbeing provided with evenly-distributed smallopenings or perforations.

2. As an article of manufacture, a storagebattery grid having itsopposite sides pro vided with parallel and obliquely-arrangedoutwardly-tapering pockets arranged in a plurality ofvertically-disposed columns, the pockets at one side being arranged atan angle to the pockets at the other side, and having also a perforatedweb separating the pockets at one side from the pockets at the otherside.

3. As an article of manufacture, a storagebattery grid composed ofsuperimposed plates having u wardly-extending projections adapted toform a terminal for the battery-plate, and having also strengthening orreinforcing portions tapering downwardly from said terminal.

Signed by me at Chicago, day of June, 1903.

Illinois, this 6th DAVID P. PER RY.

Witnesses:

CHAs. C. BULKLEY, WM. A. HARDERS.

IIS

